The Pentagon announced Feb. 9 that a senior Department of Defense official has reduced the sentence of Ibrahim al-Qosi, the accused former al-Qaeda cook and accountant who pleaded guilty before a military tribunal last July to crimes of conspiracy and supporting terrorism. His sentence reduced to just two years, al-Qosi could return to his native Sudan as soon as summer of 2012, and he will serve the balance of his sentence in a minimum-security Guantanamo Bay facility until then. Unbeknownst to the 10-officer jury that sentenced him to 14 years last August, al-Qosi had struck a secret plea deal with Pentagon officials that will remain sealed until his eventual release. Under the terms of the deal, the Convening Authority for Military Commissions (CAMC), which has final review authority over military tribunal sentences, agreed to cut al-Qosi's jury sentence to the extent that it exceeded the bargained-for term. Senior CAMC overseer Bruce MacDonald had the authority to reduce al-Qosi's sentence further, but adhered to the two-year maximum term in the plea agreement.

A Peruvian appeals court announced on Jan. 24 it had rejected the government's petition to overturn a lower court's decision to grant parole to Lori Berenson, a US citizen held since 1995 for collaboration with a Marxist rebel organization. According to Berenson and her lawyer, the ruling was final and cannot be appealed, representing a major setback to the government's efforts to return her to prison. Berenson's release last year sparked angry reaction in Peru, where she is widely remembered for her tirades in court during her televised trials in 1995. Berenson is obliged to stay in Lima for the remaining five years of her 20-year prison sentence, unless her sentence is commuted by President Alan García. If her sentence is commuted, Berenson would be deported immediately, allowing her to return to her native New York.

The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) on Feb. 3 said the death of a Guantánamo Bay detainee highlights problems with the detention system currently used by the US for dealing with terrorist suspects. The detainee, Awal Gul, had been at the Guantánamo detention center since October 2002, suspected of having aided the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. Gul apparently died on Feb. 1 of an apparent heart attack after he had completed aerobic exercises.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Feb. 2 praised the efforts of Egyptian protesters while repeating concerns over casualties, calling on the nation's leaders to give citizens the democratic reform they demand. There are currently unconfirmed reports of 300 casualties and 3,000 injured. Citing Article 21 of the of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Pillay stated that the will of the people should determine the government:

An Italian court on Feb. 1 convicted former Guantánamo Bay detainee Mohamed Ben Riadh Nasri on terror charges and sentenced the Tunisian man to six years in prison. Prosecutors accused Nasri of working for a terror group associated with al-Qaeda while living in Milan in the 1990s. The US transferred Nasri, who was arrested in Afghanistan, from Guantánamo Bay to Italy in 2009 along with Abdel Ben Mabrouk as the part of the government's plan to shut down the detention center. Nasri's lawyer said he plans to appeal the conviction.

More than 1,000 protesters have been detained in Egypt as demonstrations against the 30-year reign of President Hosni Mubarak entered their third day on Jan. 27. Protests were held Cairo, as well as the port city of Suez, and are reportedly spreading across the country. In Suez, police resorted the use of rubber-coated bullets, water cannons and teargas, after protesters burnt down a police post. On Jan. 25, Egypt's Ministry of Interior announced it would no longer tolerate the protests, which have resulted in several deaths. Meanwhile, Nobel Peace Prize winner and Egyptian opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei has expressed his willingness to lead a transitional government. Elbaradei, who previously led the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said he is planning to return to Egypt to join the protests.

The Obama administration may increase its use of controversial military commissions for Guantánamo Bay detainees, according to a New York Times report Jan. 20. Per the report, administration officials plan to rescind an order issued on Obama's first day in office that halted military commission proceedings and continues to block the government from initiating new cases under the system. If done, filings are expected within weeks, which would represent the first time that new charges are brought against detainees during the Obama administration. Officials are also reportedly drafting a new executive order that would establish mechanisms by which to review the cases of those detainees held without trial.

Former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier was charged Jan. 18 with corruption, theft, misappropriation of funds and other unnamed crimes. Duvalier underwent several hours of questioning, and, although he was released, he does not have the right to leave Haiti. Duvalier returned to Haiti from exile in France on Jan. 16, stating that he had come to offer assistance to help the country recover from last year's earthquake. On Jan. 17, Amnesty International called for Haitian authorities to prosecute Duvalier for human rights violations committed during his time in power. Amnesty claimed Duvalier and his regime committed acts of "systematic torture," including the disappearance or execution hundreds of pro-democracy activists at the hands of Haiti's armed forces and paramilitary force, the Tonton Macoutes. There has been no comment from Haitian authorities as to whether Duvalier will eventually be charged on these rights violations.